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Practice dictation & shadowing on the daily life story: Romance Novels
Romance Novels
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Romance novels
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Novels are imaginary stories about people and events.
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They are written to entertain and amuse.
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2000 years ago and Greek writers told tales of young lovers.
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Usually the lovers were separated by terrible events and were reunited only after much hardship and suffering.
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This plot idea is still in use today.
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The most popular books for women today in North America are romance novels.
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Many millions are sold every year.
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This means that romance publishing is big business and very competitive.
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Companies survey their readers to determine the kinds of stories they like.
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One survey asks readers whether or not they would like more references to sex in their novels.
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Usually romances are about love, not sex.
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But in today's market, publishers are ready to give their readers what they want.
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The essence of the romance is to create suspense by putting obstacles in the way of lovers.
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One simple obstacle is to make the hero and the heroine as different as possible.
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For example, an Eastern school teacher meets a Western cowboy.
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Of course, at first they don't like each other at all, but in time they fall in love.
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Or a female social worker might meet an aggressive businessman.
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Quite often the heroine is a spinster who was sworn never to marry.
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Or perhaps she has a special dislike for the hero and his family.
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The romance writer must come up with a plausible way to bring the two together.
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There are a number of popular plots that lead to marriage.
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Sometimes the heroine, out of a sense of duty, will move in with a hero to help him raise his children.
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Or she may be a professional nanny who moves in with a widower.
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A favorite plot is the marriage of convenience.
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Two people who don't like each other get married for financial or political reasons or for the sake of the children.
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Later, of course, they fall in love.
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In most cases, there is some particular obstacle to marriage.
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Often either the hero or the heroine already has children, and he or she doesn't expect that anyone will want to take on their ready made family.
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Sometimes one or the other has a physical disability or is of a different race, class or background.
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For example, the heroine may come from a very strict and proper family, while the hero may have a dubious reputation or even be a criminal.
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The interest of the story lies in how these very different people come together.
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Usually the hero is a very masculine type, a cowboy, engineer, military man, pirate, gambler, etc.
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The heroine is usually very female, but may have tomboy or spinster traits.
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She frequently has a strong personality and a temper, and is described as feisty or fiery.
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A good example of the two types is Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Win.
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Nearly every romance novel will contain some promotional offer to encourage readers to order more books.
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Romances can be addictive, and some women read them almost nonstop.
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Some romances are very well written, but the majority follows a set formula.
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That way the reader always knows what to expect.